The Halfway Mark
The Halfway Mark is the sixteenth episode of Endurance 3: Hawaii. Overview The strongest teams are suddenly in jeopardy when the Endurance Mission becomes a test of wits, not strength. Although victory is crucial, the winners face pressure from all sides as they decide whom to handicap before the next elimination. Episode Summary On this unusually sunny morning in the jungle, JD meets with the final four teams of Endurance: Hawaii to read the recently departed Brown team's farewell letter, and more importantly, to find out which team Brown has left their Perseverance pyramid piece to. In a jovial letter, in which he congratulates all of the remaining contestants, Tom reveals that Brown has chosen to leave its pyramid piece to the Yellow team because they have demonstrated so much perseverance throughout the game. The acquisition of Brown's piece, a small but much-needed recovery, puts Yellow back on the board, after Gray had taken all of their pieces by way of the Samadhi on a previous day. Currently, the Gray team is in the lead with four pieces; Purple has three pieces; Orange has two pieces; and Yellow now has one pyramid piece. Before they convene, JD lets everyone know that a pyramid piece and the powerful Samadhi will be on the line in the day's Endurance mission. Back at the huts, a feud is brewing between Bryanah and the rest of the girls. It seems that Lindi, Sarah and Nicole feel that Bryanah is trying to turn their teammates against them by flirting with the boys. Bryanah can't figure out why the girls are against her, since she has not done anything offensive to any of them, but she has a feeling that Nicole is manipulating Lindi and Sarah. Whatever the cause, the girls of the Orange, Purple and Gray teams set out to do anything they can to prevent Yellow from winning the day's mission, and thus, get Bryanah thrown out of the game and off of the island. Game time finally arrives, and the teams meet with JD to play the day's Endurance mission - Try Tri Again JD explains that in previous missions the players have been put to the test physically, but in this game they'll have to use their heads. The teams will be given a stack of triangle pieces that are covered with blue, red and green half-circles. The task for the teams is to assemble the pieces in a specific layout, aligning each of the colored half-circles with its corresponding half that exists separately on a triangular border. The result is an extremely elaborate puzzle where all of the colored half-circles will align to form complete circles or dots. If one piece is misarranged, the puzzle cannot be solved. The first team to solve the puzzle will win the game's Luck pyramid piece and the all-important Samadhi. While it might appear to be an easy task, the game confounds all of the teams from the very start, and no one can get their dots to match up . It is extremely tough to tell who is in the lead, because at any moment a team could be just one piece away from winning. At first, it appears that Orange may have found the winning combination, but when they place their very last piece, they find it isn't a match. Meanwhile, the Yellow team discovers the winning layout! In one day, Yellow has shifted the course of the entire game by working its way into a tie for third place with two pieces and earning the right to determine which team will be the recipient of the Samadhi. The Purple, Gray and Orange teams are left stunned. Bryanah and Monroe take some time to enjoy their victory, while the rest of the teams suspect that they will be receiving the Samadhi. But Monroe, who loves making the others uneasy about their futures, simply refuses to reveal who Yellow will give the Samadhi to. Later, at the island, the teams meet with JD to find out who will be getting the Samadhi. With much ado, Monroe recounts how each of the remaining teams have wronged Yellow at some point in the game; he explains, however, that Yellow's final decision was based on the team they felt was the strongest competition left in the contest. Based on that criterion, Yellow gives the Samadhi to the Gray team. When Chris breaks the Samadhi, it reveals a ball. JD explains that the ball means the Gray team will have to sit out the following day's Temple mission until the first ball of the contest is played. After receiving the Samadhi, Gray's only hope is to overcome their handicap, or that their friends, the Purple team, can win the mission. Meanwhile, the shift of power has left Nicole thinking that it might make good sense for Orange to align with Yellow since Gray and Purple are such good friends Game Play Standings Mission The teams will be given a stack of triangle pieces that are covered with blue, red and green half-circles. The task for the teams is to assemble the pieces in a specific layout, aligning each of the colored half-circles with its corresponding half that exists separately on a triangular border. The result is an extremely elaborate puzzle where all of the colored half-circles will align to form complete circles or dots. If one piece is misarranged, the puzzle cannot be solved. The first team to solve the puzzle will win the game's Luck pyramid piece and the all-important Samadhi. Production Notes Quotes: *'J.D.: '(after Yellow is awarded Perseverance by Brown) "Yellow team, it's been quite a ride— you didn't start off so well; then you were winning challenges, and then you got your pieces taken, given the Samadhi and sent back up to Temple, but take a look around, you're still here." *'Monroe: '"Tom left his Perseverance piece to us, which is good because if we went to the finals with zero pieces, we'd automatically lose, so it's great knowing we can put up some sort of fight." *'Sarah: '"Reece isn't talking to me— usually, he's like, 'Hey, Sarah; hey, Lindi', but he hasn't been doing that lately." **'Lindi: '"I bet Bryanah said something bad about us to him..." *'Bryanah:' "I don't understand— what did I ever do to any of those girls?" * Monroe: "I think it's just that Nicole doesn't like you, and the other two girls don't want to stick up for you." * Bryanah: '"I think Nicole's just fake, and that she tries to get everybody to go against one person." * '''Chris: '"It's probably because you hang out with us more than you do with them." ** 'Bryanah: '"I don't get it; I'll go home and I'll never know why." * 'Lindi: '"It'd be so much easier if Yellow wasn't here." * 'Nicole: '"They've had their pieces taken, gotten the Samadhi, sent up to Temple twice, and they're still here; I mean, GO HOME!" * 'Nicole: '"Yellow needs to go... they are too lucky." * 'Monroe: '"After getting two samadhis and being sent to Temple twice, it felt so good to finally get another win under our belt; now that we have power again, we have to make things happen for ourselves." * 'Lindi: '"It's ironic that the Yellow Team got the Luck piece; all this time, they had luck." * 'Bryanah: '"No team has gone from zero to two pieces in one day, so we're feeling pretty good now." *'Nicole: '"[Bryanah] doesn't hold grudges against guys, just towards girls— it doesn't matter how much of a disadvantage it is, because we never win Temple Missions anyway!" *'''Monroe: "Chris and Reece are mad that I won't tell them who I'm giving them the Samadhi; they can be annoyed about it and wreck their day, and it's just fine with me, because they've ruined plenty of my days." *'Reece: '"I do whatever Grey does..." *'Monroe: '(when Lindi claims she'd send Orange and Purple tomorrow) "Lindi, who put you up to that lie?" **'Lindi: '"I don't know, I could convince Chris to do it." *'Monroe: '"Lindi was telling me, 'we might send Purple, because strategically that makes sense', and I was like, 'Lindi, that is the biggest lie I've ever heard from you, and if you think I'm gonna buy that, you might as well go up to Temple right now!'" *'Bryanah: '"[Chris] seriously thinks he has me whipped..." **'Monroe: '"He has pretty much everybody whipped." **'Bryanah: '"When he does not!" *'J.D.: '"So this is the first time, in a long time, that I've seen Yellow walk into the island first full of smiles— recently, I've been seeing long faces, and [Monroe] kissing your pieces goodbye, but now you're on the upswing. Bryanah, when you first got Monroe as your partner, your first impression was you wouldn't be going very far, is that true?" **'Bryanah: '"I did stereotype him at the beginning, but he's proven me wrong at every single challenge so far." **'J.D.: '"So a good lesson for this would be don't judge a book by its cover?" *'J.D.: '"Sarah, what a shock! Putting on earrings, full-on make-up, trying to look perfect every day, and then, we have a new Sarah! Shells around the neck, hair up--no earrings, no makeup; what's going on?" **'Sarah: '"Well, I do miss everything, like the food, my friends, cell phone and laptop; it's like half of me wants to win really badly, and the other half wants to go home." **'J.D.: '"Reece, how do you feel about the half that wants to go home?" **'Reece: '"I think Sarah should stay here and suffer to win, rather than just go home and wimp out." *'Monroe: '"Every team's done us wrong— Grey's stolen our pieces and given us the Samadhi; Orange has sent us to Temple; Purple's given us the Samadhi and sent us to Temple, so it's just a coin toss to see who gets it." *'J.D.: '"So, you want to split the Samadhi three ways?" **'Monroe: '"As much as we would, me and Bry decided to base our decision on who we thought was the strongest competitor." *'Lindi: '"Haven't seen a softball in a while..." *'Monroe: '"Why did we give it to Grey? Well, it's because they gave us the Samadhi most recently, so we thought we'd have a little payback." *'Nicole: '"I'm realizing now how close Purple and Grey are getting now, so I need to make friends with Yellow so that there's someone there for Orange. Trivia: * Last time a Yellow team won a mission. * First time a Gray team received a samedhi Category:Episodes Category:Final Four Episodes Category:Endurance Missions Category:Season 3 episodes